Christians Defy Their Maker

Supporting What God Hates…

“So forty or so years after all the love-ins, the marches, the righteous dope (all of which may seem silly, but in my view preferable to watching a Cambodian mother screaming over the opened bleeding guts of her child) the Pentagon is at it again. Once more the jets howl over remote primitive countries, countries that did nothing to the US and couldn’t have, and promotions flow, and contracts, and generals demand more troops and more money to stop communism. Excuse me, terrorism. Soon, the Chinese, a better threat, coming to a theater near you. With the passing of years, one demon fades into another. Switching enemies is much easier now, what with search-and-replace.” Fred Reed

As the inexorable weight of time presses the duration of life, ones affairs cry for order. Sorting through boxes of family heirlooms is indeed an intimidating chore. Stored away in the attic are pictures from lives long gone, citations, letters, archaic official documents, fragile newspaper clippings browned and deteriorated at the seams, watches and rings that belonged to my father, a picture of my mother’s 1920s Tea Room in Chicago, a ferrotype picture of an Aunt several times removed, photos of unknown family relatives and friends, a 1945 newspaper with four inch black headlines announcing “The War Is Over”, Dad’s medals from WWI (he survived offenses at Somme and Meuse-Argonne), pictures and more pictures.

My father and mother were born in the Nineteenth Century but lived most of their lives in the Twentieth. That century might be dubbed The Hundred Year Wars. War framed our psyche, was absorbed into our bodies and minds and tainted our entire being. War birthed our nation and genocide secured our land. A frivolous Civil War annihilated 600 thousand citizens. But it was the Twentieth Century that brought mass slaughter to its zenith. Though the United States of America was never invaded nor in any imminent danger, its armies, fighting overseas in direct opposition to the warning of the Founders, have been responsible for the deaths of millions of God’s creatures.

Will Grigg writes, “To the extent that any radiance attends the labors of the Regime ruling us, it is the demonic nimbus of shock-and-awe, not the divine radiance of the Shekinah. The true tragedy of our time is that so many American Christians are blind to that critical distinction.” Grigg points to the crux of the problem; Christians prefer shock-and-awe to the ineffable peace God seeks for His creation. Confronted with documented evidence of the Iran-Contra scandal my sister writes, “I would be depressed all the time if I read everything you sent. Some of it is hard to believe. President Reagan was my most favorite president and for him to allow what went on with the Contra’s through the drug network, etc. is unbelievable. Can you think of a country you would rather be in?? Granted, we have our flaws and much of this has been going on since Roosevelt, but there’s no country I’d rather be in and I’m not going to tear it down every chance I get. I’ll work to make it better. But, at our age, there’s only so much one can do. Sometimes one can get too much information. I’m glad you’re expanding your mind, but there’s only so much I want to digest!!”

My sister is a great gal and I love her. She loves our nation and in her limited way would be a willing helper. Unfortunately, she, like millions of other Americans, has chosen to ignore reality and in spite of numerous warnings, refuses to acknowledge and repent from the serious mortal sin that taints our national policy. Like Eli, the priest, those who overlook evil or treat it with a light reprimand expose themselves to the eventual wrath of God. Eli allowed his sons to profane the temple and as a result God sent his messenger to Eli saying “Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel? Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me – for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.’” Soon the Philistine army defeated Israel, Eli’s sons Hophni and Phinehas, died, the ark was taken, and Eli, himself, fell, broke his neck, and died.

United States citizens have found reason to support profligate government and profligate government has sunk the nation into mortal sin. We are beginning to suffer the results of that folly.

America has known unprecedented freedom and prosperity. Much of the blessing was a result of the embers of Christianity that continued to burn through many years of secular slide. From a theologically splintered overwhelmingly Christian beginning its citizens have allowed it to be hijacked by nefarious forces with injurious intentions; we have voted for political candidates that have betrayed us and the Constitution they swore to uphold, candidates that have lied to us, debased our morals, manipulated our perspective, and committed treason. Following this blatant skullduggery we have re-elected the same scoundrels again and again.

Professor Laurence Vance said this, “The result of this American exceptionalism is a foreign policy that is aggressive, reckless, belligerent, and meddling. This is why U.S. foreign policy results in discord, strife, hatred, and terrorism toward the United States. This is why U.S. foreign policy excuses the mass murder of civilians in the Philippines, Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Iraq as for the greater good. This is why the fruits of U.S. foreign policy are the destabilization and overthrow of governments, the assassination of leaders, the destruction of industry and infrastructure, the backing of military coups, death squads, and drug traffickers, imperialism under the guise of humanitarianism, support for corrupt and tyrannical governments, brutal sanctions and embargoes, and the United States bribing and bullying itself around the world as the world’s policeman, fireman, social worker, and busybody. The United States would never tolerate another country engaging in an American-style foreign policy. How many countries are allowed to build military bases in the United States? It is the height of arrogance to insist that the United States alone has the right to garrison the planet with bases, station troops wherever it wants, police the world, and intervene in the affairs of other countries. I’m afraid Jim Wallis is right again: “America’s foreign policy is more than preemptive, it is theologically presumptuous; not only unilateral but dangerously messianic; not just arrogant but bordering on the idolatrous and blasphemous.”

Let me point out here that I am at theological odds with both Laurence Vance and Jim Wallis but both have properly pegged the spirit of our nation!

Competitive athletics are extremely popular in the United States. Athletes and athletic prowess have always been highly regarded by most of the world’s societies. In United States Christian athletes abound. Prayers are said by powerful football players and many individual sports figures claim to be followers of the Savior. Lurking behind the Christian veneer is often a fervent quest for individual victory. Winning is often confused with God’s blessing not only on the athletic field but often in churches. God will assist in the battle for His dominion but we should not expect him to assist in winning secular athletic contests, growing profligate churches, or winning illegitimate wars. When winning becomes paramount the road to victory often becomes pragmatic with victory trumping righteousness. This spirit of victory at any cost carries over into the conduct of war and helps account for the blind support Christians give it.

God’s battle is between good and evil – He and His Laws are good. We and our laws are evil. The Apostle Paul refers to winning the race but he is not speaking of a race between human beings. His race was between the dominion of God and the dominion of man. The Bible encourages leadership in the battle to defeat evil but it does not encourage the purposeless defeat of one of God’s creatures by another.

I am not attempting to condemn legitimate bi-lateral athletic competitions but only to point out that the physical ability of one man to outdo another may be an illegitimate use of God’s gift.

Jesus’ life was a sacrifice. It was a sacrificial victory quite different from any of the secular competitions we have all come to enjoy. His was a life of obedience; obedience to the Law of Moses and to the Will of His Father. His death for our sins opened the door to The Father’s Throne to all believers and empowered us to more fully obey. Peace is the song of God’s heart. Peace is a product of obedience. Justice is defined by God’s Law. Disobedience to God’s Law produces injustice and injustice brings conflict. Athletic contests are a form of war and Christians must take great care they do not produce evil results.

Steven Steinlight writes with enviable clarity. He is rabidly Jewish but critical of some of the positions taken by American Zionists. In a piece entitled “Pandering by the ADL” he contrasts the Muslin belief that the Qur’an is “the literal word of God transmitted whole and perfect – perfect for all time – to Mohammed by the Angel Gabriel” with what he maintains is the Christian practice of treating “Holy Scripture as a smorgasbord from which to pick and choose in the interest of the most humane exegesis”. Concerning the Qur’an he writes, “What was true when the revelation was allegedly made to Mohammed in the seventh century is equally true now.” The contrast Steinlight makes is correct in practice but incorrect in perception. Many Western Christians assume they believe in the authenticity of the entire Bible while in practice they and their pastors only use selected portions. When I write about the wisdom of the Old Testament, I am admonished to “read the New Testament”. The Old Testament teaches the blessing of obedience and the curses of disobedience. Since, in spite of repeated chastisement, the people God chose failed to obey His Law, in His abundant mercy He sent His only Son as a propitiation for their sins so they might continue to be His chosen people. When the Son was rejected and slain, He moved the mantel from those He had attempted to save and placed it on those who were willing to honor Him (“for those who honor Me, I will honor.”) Under the New Covenant obedience to the Law was still the standard for behavior but no longer the criterion for salvation. The Bible is a continuous narrative that cannot be treated as a buffet or as two different courses. It is a single meal. Dispensational partitioning of the Gospel has contributed to the tendency to disregard large portions of scripture. This problem would be solved quickly if preachers would begin to teach Biblical continuity. It is common practice in contemporary Evangelical circles to allow an occasional quote for the Old Testament but the overwhelmingly emphasis is on the New Covenant. There is a disastrous, erroneous impression that another more merciful god inhabits the New Testament.

John Pilger in an essay entitled “Mourn on the Fourth of July” writes that “Since 1945, by deed and by example, the US has overthrown 50 governments, including democracies, crushed some 30 liberation movements and supported tyrannies from Egypt to Guatemala (see William Blum’s histories). Bombing is apple pie. Having stacked his government with warmongers, Wall Street cronies and polluters from the Bush and Clinton eras, the 45th president is merely upholding tradition. The hearts and minds farce I witnessed in Vietnam is today repeated in villages in Afghanistan and, by proxy, Pakistan, which are Obama’s wars”. Read the entire article here.

Biblically there are two legitimate reasons for initiating a war: One, to protect the families that reside in a nation; Two, to bring about lasting peace.

The invasion of the Promised Land was a punishment for the heinous sin of the occupants of the land and the fulfillment of a promise made by God to His Chosen People. If they had been obedient to God’s commands their nation would have enjoyed lasting peace. Disobedience planted the seed of strife and as time went on wars continued.

God often used war and captivity as punishment for His chosen people. The victors and captors were often pagan; not recipients of God’s blessing. God dealt with His Chosen People as a nation and held the leaders responsible. In latter days the nation split in two, Israel and Judah. God then dealt with them separately.

United States began as a Republic with a government restrained by the Constitution. Little by little we have become a Democracy with a government that manipulates the electorate and ignores the Constitution. In spite of this deterioration the majority of our citizens are still under the illusion that writing letters and calling congressmen is an effective way of restraining government. They have not yet noticed that in spite of their best efforts to threaten their elected representatives our nation is steadily losing its moral standards, its culture, its wealth, and its freedom. Captivity is not far away and the only antidote for captivity is repentance and a willingness to obey God.

The impetus for writing this piece came from the discovery among my father’s things of a two inch diameter round bronze gratitude metal with VICTORY emblazoned across the upper face. It has an angelic figure in the center surrounded by soldiers and an airplane. On the reverse side a. cross, American flags and the words “By This Sign Conquer”. At the bottom: “1917 – 1918.” “Presented by The Presbyterian Church to her loyal sons who gave their service in the World War for righteousness and freedom”.

My father loved to write and his letters written from France during the War were a joy to read. He was a consummate patriot. Nothing critical of the War appeared in his writing. His church supported the war, the press supported the war, and our government declared it. Schools have failed to teach the absolutes necessary to maintain freedom and government propaganda has always been able to convince our citizens that the current war is necessary. This in spite of the fact that our Founders had vehemently warned against foreign entanglements and over 90 percent of our citizens claimed to worship a God of peace. Perhaps we are too easily convinced.